The iconic monarch butterfly is a true marvel of nature. It weighs less than a penny, yet it makes one of the longest migrations on Earth across a continent, with pinpoint navigational accuracy, to a secluded place it has never been. In Flight of the...

Jean-Michel Cousteau, son of ocean pioneer Jacques Cousteau, brings to the Giant IMAX Dome screen a stunning look at a secret world within the ocean. Dive in and discover the beauty and diversity of the oceans—the source of all life on our planet....

Limited Engagement! Through September 7 only!
The magic is back in San Diego! The Reuben H. Fleet Science Center welcomes Jason Latimer, the World Champion of Magic and judge on Syfy's Wizard Wars, to the Heikoff Giant Dome Theater for a special...

Through visually stunning imagery, and in collaboration with leading space experts, Journey To Space showcases the exciting plans NASA and the space community are working on to take humans further into space than ever before. The film calls attention to...

Dive In to the Newest Giant Screen Adventure!
An extraordinary journey into the mysterious world of one of nature’s most awe-inspiring marine mammals, Humpback Whales takes audiences to Alaska, Hawaii and the Kingdom of Tonga for an immersive look at...

Come and experience the greatest science show on Earth at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, through September 7, 2015!
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls: Step right up! CIRCUS: Science Under The Big Top has come to San Diego!
Experience the...

Stand back: We're doing science! Don't Try This at Home is a series of new live shows that explore science that's too messy, too noisy and too hair-raising to do at home! You can experience multiple different shows throughout the day, one show performed...

Explore new frontiers in technology through 3D printing in the Tinkering Studio at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center. Join us on the afternoons of August 2, 9 and 16, from noon to 2 p.m., for a special three-session workshop on computer-aided design (...

The first Monday of every month, seniors 65 and better can enjoy the Science Center exhibits, a show in the Heikoff Giant Dome Theater and a lecture on the quietest day of the month for only $8! No coupons or additional discounts are accepted. The Fleet'...

As a thank you to San Diego County residents, the Fleet offers Residents’ Free Tuesday on the first Tuesday of each month.
Free Gallery Admission
Free gallery admission applies to San Diego City and County residents, local college students and active-...

Join us on the first Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. or 8:15 p.m. for a tour of the solar system narrated by the Fleet’s astronomer. Journey through the cosmos with us as we explore a new topic each month.
For optimal viewing, each show is limited to...

It’s not a scientific mystery that learning is more fun when you’re drinking with friends and colleagues. And thus, the idea for Suds & Science was born: bimonthly events that bring scientists face-to-face with the general public in a neighborhood...

… What sounds like the beginning of a rather bad joke is a fun, new community program by the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center.
50 Scientists. 25 Bars. One Night. All Over San Diego County.
During Two Scientists Walk Into a Bar, local scientists will...

Join the Fleet's Curator of Impossible Science, Jason Latimer, as he hosts the first ever Impossible Science Festival, taking place at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center!
Learn how to make objects invisible.
Walk on water!
Explore levitation...

Each month, a different local scientist, engineer or researcher will share their passion for what they do and provide information that will be useful in your classroom. We will focus on connecting the real science happening in San Diego with the Next...

WASHINGTON (October 25, 2013)—A new giant screen film adventure takes audiences on an extraordinary journey into unseen worlds and hidden dimensions beyond our normal vision to uncover the mysteries of things too fast, too slow, too small to be seen or simply invisible. On Friday, November 8, the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center’s Heikoff Giant Dome Theater will premiere MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD, an original production by National Geographic Entertainment and Days End Pictures, narrated by Forest Whitaker.

Created by an award-winning veteran film team, the new 40-minute large format experience is produced by Jini Dürr (Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure) and Lisa Truitt (Mysteries of Egypt), and directed by Louie Schwartzberg (Disneynature: Wings of Life). MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD uses innovative high-speed and time-lapse photography, electron microscopy and nanotechnology to transport audiences to an enthralling secret world of nature, events and breathtaking phenomena not visible to the naked eye.

INVISIBLE:

We see only a fraction of the millions of wavelengths in the vast electromagnetic spectrum—the rainbow of light waves called visible light. The film shows audiences what it would be like if we had X-ray vision, or infrared vision like a mosquito; how a bee’s eyes see through ultraviolet light; what Gamma rays, microwaves and radio waves show us; and more.

TOO SLOW:

Time-lapse images capture mundane events that happen too slowly for humans to perceive. The film shows plants creeping toward the sun and astonishingly complex “slime molds” searching for food. On a grander scale, time-lapse allows audiences to see our planet in motion—from the vast and relentless sweep of nature to the restless movement of humanity.

TOO FAST:

High-speed cameras do the opposite of time-lapse, revealing secrets from the super-fast world of nature. The film shows slow-motion sequences of events that happen too quickly for human perception: a rattlesnake strike; drum cymbals reverberating; a Eurasian Eagle Owl, the world’s largest, flexing its wings; a basilisk or Jesus lizard running on the surface of water; popcorn popping; lightning rising upward from the ground as well as striking from the sky.

TOO SMALL:

The film also peers into the world of wonders too small for the human eye to see—from the minute structures on a butterfly’s wing and the tiny organisms that inhabit the human body all the way down to nano-scale structures. See how electron microscopes create images that magnify things by as much as a million times—revealing a world that is both bizarre and beautiful. Guess which unusual image is a fruit fly’s eye, the skin of a shark, a flea on a cat, a tomato stem, an eggshell and more!

MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD then moves from the familiar events of everyday life to the building blocks of matter itself. The filmmakers worked with a 3-D medical animation company to depict the atom-scale realm of nano-science and potential innovations in nanotechnology. In a complex zoom sequence, the shot moves in on a spider, then a strand of its silk, then into the silk itself where audiences see a bacterium. The camera then zooms even deeper, in on a virus on the bacterium, then into the DNA of the virus and finally into the actual atoms of the DNA.

“MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD immerses audiences in mind-bending dimensions that enhance our understanding of the planet and inspire people with the wonder and possibilities of science,” said Lisa Truitt, president of National Geographic Entertainment.

“The premise of this new giant screen film experience is looking at the world through a variety of imaging technologies that allow audiences to see beyond what they can with the naked eye and gain a new vision of the world around them,” said producer Jini Dürr.

MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD is funded in part by a grant from the National Science foundation and generous support from Lockheed Martin and FEI, a manufacturer of electron microscopes.

As the Fleet’s new UNSEEN SCIENCE exhibition opens, think small … really, really small! UNSEEN SCIENCE invites you to peek at the big science of nanotechnology, view molecules through augmented reality and look at science in a whole new way. UNSEEN SCIENCE incorporates several exhibits, including Nano: Imagine and Discover a World You Can’t See! and Molecules in Motion, and opens at the Fleet on November 8 in conjunction with the film.

MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD and UNSEEN SCIENCE will open Friday, November 8, 2013, and will run in an open-ended engagement. The Reuben H. Fleet Science Center Heikoff Giant Dome Theater is located at 1875 El Prado, San Diego, CA 92101. Giant Dome Theater show admission (1 film + access to all exhibit galleries): Members: Adults $13, Seniors $11, Children $10; nonmembers: Adults $17, Seniors $15, Children $14. The Fleet’s normal hours are Monday–Thursday 10AM–5PM; Friday, Saturday and Sunday 10AM–6PM. For information on tickets and showtimes, call (619) 238-1233 or visit our website at http://www.rhfleet.org/.

Celebrate the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center’s 40th Anniversary Year!

Forty years ago, a spark ignited our imaginations! March 9, 2013, kicked off a year-long celebration of the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center and its 40 years of success in bringing hands-on science to our San Diego community. In 1973, the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center opened its doors and brought interactive exhibits and the world’s first IMAX® Dome Theater to San Diego. Today, the Fleet inspires minds and connects individuals to science and technology through more than 100 “do touch” exhibits for all ages and amazing IMAX films and planetarium shows in the recently renovated Heikoff Giant Dome Theater. Enjoy our year-long celebration, featuring a blockbuster exhibition, incredible events and dynamic educational experiences.

About the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center

The Reuben H. Fleet Science Center (the Fleet) is home to Southern California's only Giant Dome Theater and 100+ hands-on science exhibits for all ages. Watch immersive giant-screen films in the Eugene Heikoff and Marilyn Jacobs Heikoff Giant Dome Theater, which reopened in 2012 after extensive renovations. Our theater is extraordinary in many ways. It is the world's first IMAX® Dome Theater, the world's first NanoSeam™ Dome screen in an IMAX theater, and it offers two unique experiences in one space: IMAX films and planetarium shows. The Heikoff Giant Dome Theater boasts a 76-foot tilted Dome screen and a 16,000-watt digital surround sound system, providing a stunning visual and audio experience. Experience eight galleries of fun, interactive exhibits, including major traveling exhibitions. A hurricane simulator thrills visitors with gusts of wind up to 80 miles per hour. Enjoy sandwiches, salads and healthy treats in Galileo's Café. Find unique educational toys and games, books, IMAX DVDs and more in the North Star Science Store. Located at 1875 El Prado, two blocks south of the San Diego Zoo on Park Blvd., the Fleet Science Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to furthering the public understanding and enjoyment of science and technology. For information regarding current admission prices, please call (619) 238-1233 or visit our website at www.rhfleet.org.